Weekend: Yes, please 'Say It Isn't So'

Yes, please 'Say It Isn't So'

This humor-challenged film falls flat in the hands of a protege of the infamous Farrelly brothers.

By STEVE PERSALL

Assistant directors are a vital part of a filmmaking crew, setting up the little shots and details so lead directors can concentrate on more important creative issues.

James B. Rogers was an assistant director for the wacky Farrelly brothers on three high-grossing and highly gross comedies: There's Something About Mary, Kingpin and Me, Myself & Irene.

Judging from his directing debut, Say It Isn't So, Rogers must have been in charge of the jokes about animal abuse and physical disability. The Farrellys didn't teach him much about developing punch lines or audience affinity for such sick-humored setups.

Say It Isn't So is a crude, pointless parade of freaks, geeks and grotesques screaming and leering at each other. The movie traces the outline of Farrelly-style fun, but there isn't a single sweet moment or character to balance the bile, to offer a reference point for what is supposed to be amusing.

Chris Klein (American Pie) plays lunkhead-in-love Gilly Noble like Keanu Reeves on downers. Heather Graham (Austin Powers 2) displays two expressions (one more than Klein) as Jo Wingfield, the new babe in town. They hit it off, get it on, then are informed that they share the same shrill mother (Sally Field, embarrassing herself).

That family tie turns out to be false, but Gilly's reputation as a pervert remains. Jo moves away, but Gilly sticks around town to be humiliated, allowing screenwriters Peter Gaulke and Gerry Swallow to pen plenty of base incest references. Say It Isn't So tracks Gilly's attempt to clear his name and claim Jo before she marries a rich heel (Eddie Cibrian) who oddly comes across as the nicest person in the cast.

This is a movie in which a stroke victim (Richard Jenkins) is included because profanity heard through a metallic-voice activator is supposed to be funny. Because a person with minimal muscle control trying to fight or being helplessly covered with bees is supposed to be funny. Thing is, twisted ideas can be hilarious, if properly delivered in a well-composed context. Say It Isn't So is just clumsy and cruel. The only thing Rogers gets right is the title, avoiding the easier slang of "ain't." Good grammar. Bad movie.

Say It Isn't So

Grade: D-

Director: James B. Rogers

Cast: Chris Klein, Heather Graham, Orlando Jones, Sally Field, Richard Jenkins, Eddie Cibrian

Screenplay: Peter Gaulke, Gerry Swallow

Rating: R; sexual situations, profanity, violence

Running time: 93 min.